Far From Home
"Far From Home" is the thirty-sixth episode of . It first aired on April 15, 2006. Plot It's Supergirl's 21st birthday but she decides to spend it training against robot versions of super-villains under the watchful eyes of Green Lantern John Stewart, Green Arrow and Superman. They're impressed by her work, with Stewart telling Supergirl that he has nothing left to teach her. Superman for his part is proud of his cousin and the way she is living up to his mantle, though he is concerned that she is still living in his shadow. Green Arrow points out that, having lived on planet Argo for most of her formative years, she does not really fit into Earth's less advanced society. Arrow joins Supergirl and Stewart, announcing that she has set a new record for the exercise she has just completed when they are suddenly whisked away in a flash of energy. The trio find themselves a thousand years into the future in the 31st century, having been lured there by Brainiac 5 and Bouncing Boy, the only two remaining members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Every other member of the populous Legion has been captured by the Fatal Five who have placed the heroes under mind-control. Knowing from historical records that some members of the "legendary" Justice League were due to come to this time period at the moment, the remaining two members of the Legion activated the time machine to get help, picking up three heroes at random. Supergirl is at first distrustful of Brainiac 5, who admits that he is an organic descendant of the original and evil Brainiac of Krypton. He, however, claims to be on the side of justice. Stewart and Arrow decide to trust him, and also note the way Supergirl calls him "seriously cute." For their part, Brainiac 5 and Bouncing Boy are concerned since they know that only two of the three Leaguers returned to their time of origin and that Supergirl was never heard of again after her 21st birthday. It looks very certain that she is going to die in the 31st century. The three Justice Leaguers agree to help but at that moment they are attacked by two members of the Fatal Five, the Persuader and the Emerald Empress. In the melee, the five heroes are all put under mind control by the Empress, but Brainiac 5 manages to resist the conditioning and frees Supergirl who then brings Arrow back to normal. The Empress however decides that the Green Lantern's powerful ring will be more than enough for their plans and they leave with him and Bouncing Boy to rejoin their accomplices. While planning a counter-attack, Green Arrow notes a fast-growing attraction between Supergirl and Brainiac 5. He encourages the spark between the two while he is away upgrading his arrows with 31st century technology. The Fatal Five have covered most of their tracks but have not taken into account the earpiece-like communications devices used by the Justice League. Supergirl and Brainiac 5 come up with a means to trace Stewart's communicator: He is on board a spaceship which is making its way to the Capitol Planet which the Fatal Five intend to attack with the mind-controlled Legionnaires. Using Brainiac 5's own ship, the three heroes manage to reach the Capitol Planet in time to confront their enemies. They arrive just as Green Lantern and the mind-controlled Legion of Super-Heroes are sent to attack the planet! Supergirl tells Green Arrow and Brainiac 5 to destroy the Fatal Five's grip on the other heroes while she defends the planet from them. Fearful of the consequences of such a plan, Brainiac 5 tells her of her destiny: She will not return to her own time — and is likely to be killed in the forthcoming fight! Supergirl still decides to take the others on since she is the only one who currently can. She kisses Brainiac 5 and flies into battle. Brainiac 5 crash-lands his ship into that of the Fatal Five and he and Green Arrow take on the villains. In the battle, Arrow manages to destroy the mind-control machine. On the planet surface, Supergirl more than holds her own against incredible odds, including the physical assaults of Colossal Boy, Blok and Ultra Boy or the combined energy blasts of Wildfire, Shadow Lass and Lightning Lad. However, John Stewart unleashes a powerful attack which finally overcomes her. Stewart then throws her violently through a building and starts to crush her in a cosmically-powerful vise-grip. As the mind-control device is deactivated, Stewart becomes himself again and is horrified by what he has done. He picks up Supergirl's apparent lifeless body. On the Fatal Five's ship, Green Arrow and Brainiac 5 are systematically beaten up by their enemies. Validus is about to crush them when his robotic body is punched through and disabled by... Supergirl, alive and well! Bouncing Boy delivers the coup de grâce to the other villains. As they are about to return to their own time, the three Justice Leaguers are made honorary Legionnaires and given Legion Flight Rings. However, they are then told that they cannot actually take them home with them since future technology could affect the timeline and so they have to return them. Supergirl decides to keep hers because she is staying! She has found a place in this world, amongst technology comparable to that of her lost planet Argo, and also wants to stay with Brainiac 5. Stewart and Arrow return to their own time with a small cube which displays a hologram of a nervous and emotional Supergirl. She says farewell to her cousin and asks him to pass her love on to "Ma" and "Pa" with whom she was living in Kansas. She assures him that she is happy in a world where she can make a difference and not just be "Superman's kid cousin". Superman is pleased for her but then asks about a "boy" she mentions in her message. Stewart and Arrow exchange glances: Which one of them will tell Superman that his cousin is involved with the descendant of one of his greatest and deadliest enemies? Continuity * Upon meeting John Stewart, Bouncing Boy blurts out, "It's a real thrill for me to meet you, sir! You're the famous John Stewart! Father of--" before John cuts him off for the sake of preserving the space-time continuum. Bouncy was likely about to refer to Warhawk, the son whom Stewart has not yet fathered by the time he went on this adventure. Nevertheless, Stewart had actually met Warhawk during his previous time travel mission, as shown in "The Once and Future Thing Part Two: Time, Warped". * Even before Bouncy's faux pas, John Stewart expressed disdain towards time travel, which stems from his previous experiences in "The Savage Time" and "The Once and Future Thing Part One" and "Part Two". As of this episode, John has had three time travel adventures, the most of any hero in the DCAU. * The first episode of , "Initiation", saw stern military man John and young impulsive Supergirl attempt to carry out a mission together along with Green Arrow and Captain Atom. While it didn't exactly go smoothly, the mission was successful, leaving John and Supergirl with a better understanding and appreciation of each other. By this episode, John and Supergirl have a trusted mentor/pupil relationship. On the other hand, Arrow and Supergirl hit it off immediately and became fast friends, with Arrow being the person Supergirl turned to for help with her mysterious nightmares in "Fearful Symmetry". Background information Home video releases * * Justice League - The Complete Series (DVD) Production notes * It is incorrectly stated in this episode that the action takes place in the 31st century — Dwayne McDuffie himself acknowledged this, because in "New Kids in Town", the year is plainly given as 2979. The characters that appear in "Far From Home" are hardly 21 years older than they were in "New Kids in Town". Production inconsistencies * The line-up of the Legion in the last scene changes between shots. Members change spots, and Blok disappears altogether. Trivia * Brainiac 5 and Bouncing Boy pass a wall of statues in the opening scene. On the far side, the statues are of Douglas Nolan, Ferro Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Chameleon Boy. Dougie Nolan and Ferro Lad do not appear elsewhere in the DC Animated Universe, whilst the other three were the guest stars of "New Kids in Town". * In the scene following Supergirl's heroic last stand, Green Lantern fears that he's killed her and picks her up in his arms as the sorrowful Legion looks on. This is a direct homage to the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. In the comic book story, Supergirl is killed while saving the "infinite" universes from the evil Anti-Monitor. The cover of Crisis #7 is considered to be an iconic image of DC Comics' history, and features Superman weeping openly while holding Supergirl's body, as nearly every hero of the DC Universe (including several Legionnaires) sadly mourns in the background.( ). * This episode led to speculation that the Legion of Super-Heroes series that aired from 2006 to 2008 was intended to have been a spin-off that was instead reworked to star a young Superman, rather than Supergirl. LoSH producer James Tucker, himself a veteran of both DCAU appearances of the Legion denies that this was ever the case, however. * This episode marked Supergirl's final appearance in the DCAU. * It was also Green Arrow's last speaking appearance. * This was the last episode of the DCAU to be written by Paul Dini. Dini wrote the teleplay from Dwayne McDuffie's story. Cast Uncredited appearances * Atomic Skull * Blockbuster * Blok * Chameleon Boy * Colossal Boy * Cosmic Boy * Doctor Cyber * Douglas Nolan * Ferro Lad * Lightning Lad * Queen Bee * Saturn Girl * Shadow Lass * Timber Wolf * Ultra Boy * Wildfire * Validus Quotes Category:A to Z Category:Justice League Unlimited episodes